Hess Kennedy Comapny fraud, breach of contract, ripoff Coral Springs Florida
I too was defrauded out of money by Hess Kennedy company. I had signed an agreement with the company, even though to this day I still do not know how they obtained my email address and phone number. I think that for one that was an invasion of my privacy. And when I first signed with the company they did not have a webdsite address also. So now that makes me very suspicious of how they got my information. But, at that time when I was researching dozens of other debt consolidation/settlement firms and I was basically not thinking clearly. I was thinking about filing bankruptcy instead of debt settlement, etc.
Anyways, a representative named Carlos from Hess Kennedy sent me an agreeement and I spoke to him over the phone. He rushed me to sign the agreement and I told him I had to look it over first. I read throught it, but now that I think about it I should have taken the agreement to a lawyer. Carlos informed me that I would pay $98.50 a month for a certain length of time, while they would contact my creditors. So I started making payments and doing follow ups. I called my creditors to make sure that Hess Kennedy was sending faxes and calling them as they said they would. All of my creditors each told me no,and each said that they had only received inbound calls from me and no faxes from Hess Kennedy. I informed Hess Kennedy of this and they told me my creditors were lying. I got real suspicious because one of my creditors was quite helpful and told me to investigate the practices of this company.
What I found out made me stop sending them payments, and also at this point it had been 60 days that I was on the program and they had not contacted any of my creditors. Which in my view started to look like a breach of contract on their end. I called Hess Kennedy and told Carlos that I wanted my money back he informed me that the money went straight to attorney fees and that it could not be refunded. I told him that by not contacting my creditors Hess Kennedy breached contract, and that because of that I was entitled to my money back. And he nastily told me that it was in the contract as to why I could not get my money back. So, I did an investigation on the company and found that when you googled them, their name did not pop up. They are not listed in the yellow or white pages, and they have a tendency to use other companies' telephone numbers and bogus addresses. I then found an article in the billings gazette by Jan Falsted from Jan 23, 2005 titled: "Deeper in debt: Shady credit counseling do more harm than good."
Here is the website address
billingsgazette.net /articles/2005/01/23/business/export190663.txt
Even more recently one of my creditors when out their way to contact this company and they told my creditor that they do not represent me. I have proceeded to file complaints against them with the FTC, Florida Attorney General, Illinois Attorney General, FBI, DOACS, the local police, and BBB. If this is what it takes to ensure that this company never steal from people again, this is what you have to do. The fact that this company can still operate and was reported to be fraudulent in January 2005 is an absolute disgrace. And it is a shame that there are not any real agencies that regulate the practices of debt settlement or consolidation firms. The BBB is doing an update on this company's information also. And the Florida Attorney General office informed me that they had received other complaints regarding this company. Please make sure that you file complaints against this company through all the necessary agencies, and contact a lawyer to file criminal charges against them. I am doing the same. If you want to contact me my name is Crystal and my number is 773-436-8966. It is our duty to make sure this never happens to anyone again.
Crystal
chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Crystal
chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
UPDATE
#3Author of original report
Sun, February 03, 2008
For those requesting the article done on Hess Kennedy, Here it is:
In order to retrieve article you must go to the billings gazette website and search the archives under the date of 1/23/05 in the business news section for it
Deeper in debt: Shady credit counseling services may do more harm than good
By JAN FALSTAD Of The Gazette Staff
Mike Hoggan, who manages the Billings branch of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Montana, was tipped off when a Dex telephone book salesperson asked why his company had changed its telephone number.
The Billings office, which has counseled local debtors for nearly four decades, hadn't switched numbers. So Hoggan started nosing around.
It turns out a Florida company had taken an almost identical name - and a Billings phone number - in the just-released Dex phone book. The "local" number rings through to South Daytona Beach, Fla.
"Right above our listing, it has the bogus company, Consumer Credit Counseling, with their supposed local phone number," Hoggan said. CCCS of Montana operates eight offices around the state.
Among all the Yellow Page ads for credit counseling, only CCCS of Montana and Debt Reduction Services actually staff Billings offices, said CCCS Chief Executive Officer Tom Jacobson of Great Falls.
"We've gone from these small community-based credit-counseling organizations that are really helping people, to ads taken out by out-of-state companies that are trying to mislead," he said.
Who are those guys?
When people are caught in a credit-card choke and start staring at bankruptcy, they tend not to think clearly and can be easy prey for fraudulent companies.
A decade ago, Jacobson said almost all the 200 credit counseling agencies were legitimate and community based.
That has flip-flopped.
Out of 1,000 companies today, Jacobson said, only about 125 are reputable.
When he called the Florida company, Jacobson said the salesperson acted like he was in Billings. When he tried to set up an office interview, the salesperson said all the counselors were busy, then tried to get his financial information over the phone.
A real beach
The Florida company goes by at least two names.
According to records filed with the Florida Secretary of State office, the company calls itself Consumer Credit Counseling of America Inc. and Consumer Credit Counseling Bureau.
It lists several Florida addresses in Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Ormond Beach, and in Chelmsford, Mass.
Eric Nabydoski is listed as president.
Judy Pepper, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida in Orlando, said, "Oh yes, I know Eric and he knows me."
Since the BBB opened a file on the company in April 2003, 32 consumers, mostly from California, have filed formal complaints.
"Right now I have five complaints that are unanswered," Pepper said.
The BBB report says consumers complained about unauthorized withdrawals, failure to disclose that their initial payment is taken as a setup fee and failure to state the company's true nature.
CCC isn't a debt counseling company after all, Pepper said.
"He's a telemarketer. He would get the information and take an upfront fee," she said. The Florida company then hands debtors off to other companies, including one in Evanston, Wyo.
Trouble in paradise
Calls to Nabydoski were not returned.
However, a man identifying himself as Edward Kennedy of the Hess Kennedy law firm in George Town, Grand Cayman, called saying he represented the company.
The Consumer Credit Counseling name is not trademark-protected, he said, adding that he didn't think his client had intentionally advertised in Billings.
The privately held company is in compliance with Florida laws, he said.
When asked for his telephone number, Kennedy said, "Have a great day," then hung up.
Pepper at the BBB wondered if the man's name was real or taken from the senior senator from Massachusetts. The company's address in the commonwealth state, she said, is just a mail drop, and telemarketers often work under false names.
Helena gets involved
Cort Jensen, the lead attorney at the Montana Office of Consumer Protection in Helena, has his eye on the Florida company.
Apparently to get a local phone number, it listed a street address in Billings that turned out to be AT&T's address - a building so secure that even the postman can't enter.
Under Montana law, companies cannot use unfair or deceptive practices. Only nonprofits or companies bonded in this state can counsel debtors. The Florida company isn't bonded here, and it has registered as a for-profit in its home state.
One consumer has complained about this company to Jensen's office and so has the CCCS of Montana.
"I really don't want Montanans to get hurt and they could," Jensen said.
Montana law leaves nonprofits mostly unregulated. However, House Bill 140, which would set up some controls, gets a hearing before the Montana Legislature on Tuesday.
Jensen has placed two telephone calls to Florida.
"They haven't returned my calls. I can't imagine why. Wait. Irony doesn't translate well in newspapers, so I'll restate," he said. "If the company is legitimate and if it is complying with Montana law, I'd love to have them contact me."
Tracing the listing
Qwest Communications, the regional "Baby Bell" serving Montana and Wyoming, sold its telephone directory business.
Pat Nichols, who represents Dex in Denver, said the CCC in Florida isn't a customer because it didn't buy a phone book ad. Its only listing is in the white pages. Those are local numbers that come directly from Qwest.
"We are obligated to print the Qwest and other listings exactly as we receive them," she said.
Dex cannot police all the millions of telephone listings it receives, she added.
"However, we are very concerned, especially when it affects consumers and a legitimate company in Billings," Nichols said.
The CCCS of Montana has hired a Billings attorney to obtain a preliminary injunction. A court order, Jacobson said, could make Qwest either disconnect the bogus number or route the Florida calls to its office on Alderson Avenue.
Windin' up in Wyoming
After the Florida telemarketers land the clients, they are farmed out to other credit counseling firms, including one in Wyoming.
An Evanston, Wyo., company using the name Family Financial Education Foundation is taking referrals, according to the Central Florida BBB.
Family Financial also bought an ad in the Billings Yellow Pages. The Web site (www.ffef.org) says it processes up to 1,200 new clients each month.
The company has been in business since 1990 and has a 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
Jensen said credit counseling companies must have a non-profit status to work in most states. The IRS is re-evaluating this designation that allows so many companies in this industry to avoid paying taxes.
"Non-profit status has nothing to do with the charitable purpose or legitimacy of a business," Jensen said.
Family Financial has a satisfactory rating with the Better Business Bureau.
The company's President and Chief Executive William Richards Cluny did not return telephone calls.
"If this Florida listing truly is supposed to be a number for the Wyoming company, why not use its own name?" Jensen said.
What's a consumer to do?
Jacobson said consumers need to work with a company close to home that they can actually visit.
If that isn't feasible, he said they must check out the companies carefully and have an attorney read the contract before they sign.
All this, he said, is a sad diversion.
"We're having to spend resources, time and money defending our integrity against this nonsense instead of helping our consumers," he said.
"I can't tell you how frustrating it is."
Jan Falstad can be contacted at (406) 657-1306 or at jfalstad@billingsgazette.com.
Published on Sunday, January 23, 2005.
Last modified on 1/23/2005 at 1:25 am
Copyright The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
Crystal
chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Hess Kennedy
#3Author of original report
Sun, June 24, 2007
Unfortunately these scoundrels are still in business; a class action suit against these folks may be hard to file given that many of us victims live in different states....are there any suggestions from legal experts out there?